DayZ FPS Improvements

It will cover:

1. Launch Parameters,

2. In Game Settings,

3. Config File Tweaks,

4. FOV Calculation,

5. CPU and GPU (NVidia/ATI) Optimization

tweaks or corrections users share in this thread will be added.

It will not cover:

• CrossFire/SLI Setup
• CPU Core Parking
• Memory Allocators
• TrackIR
• Optimization for Potatoes
• How to make Friends in DayZ,

although it will provide further reading.

         ***INSTALL ON AN SSD IF YOU HAVE ONE***

                   1. Launch Parameters

DayZ is currently a 32-bit application; some of these setting may make more of an impact if/when it is made into a 64-bit application.

-Right click DayZ in steam and go to properties [1]

-Click the 'Set launch Options' button [2]

1. • -window - launches in windowed mode.

     see "Config File Tweaks" for resolution settings.

   • -noborder - borderless windowed mode.

   • -nosplash - disables the splash on startup.

   • -skipintro - disables the intro on startup.

   • -noPause - keeps the game running while not focused (could be useful for streaming)

   • -world= *empty, ChernarusPlus

     *empty will keep ChernarusPlus from loading at startup, which results in faster load times to the main menu. However, there will be a longer delay between connecting to a server and being able to move, which could mean ***LIFE OR DEATH***

   • -winxp - *May help with problems using older drivers on multi-GPU systems.

     may cause even more problems. Use at your own risk. *HDR Quality needs to be set to "Very Low"

   • -maxMem= 256-*2047mb

     256mb is hard-coded minimum; 2047mb is hard-coded maximum (May change with a 64-bit version)

   • -maxVRAM= 128-*2047mb+

     128mb is hard-coded minimum; 2047mb is soft-coded maximum, any value over 2GB may help or hurt performance or "result into unforseen consequences!"

   • -cpuCount= Defines number of CPUs/cores. 2,4,6,8.

   • -exThreads= Defines the amount of extra threads. 0,1,3,5,7. This will override auto detection (which uses 3 for dualcore and 7 for quadcore)

     source[3]

^{Original thread can be viewed here[4] , credit to /u/NakedCanadian [5]}

                   2. In Game Settings

These settings are intended to boost your framerate without sacrificing all the pretties, and are a good starting point for users to customize:

1. Open DayZ and head to Configure>Video settings.

   • Quality:

     - Objects - Low (Normal with good GPU)

     - Terrain - Very Low

     - Clouds - Normal (Disabled if you're getting random FPS drops)

     - Shadows - Normal (High or Very High with good GPU)

   • Textures:

     - Video Memory - Auto

     - Texture Detail - Normal

     - Texture Filtering - High

   • Rendering:

     - AntiAliasing - Low

     - Alpha to Coverage - Disabled

     - Edge Smoothing - FXAA Low

     - HDR Quality - Low

     - Ambient Occlusion - Disabled

     - Postprocess Quality-Disabled

   when you are finished, close DayZ.

   ^{credit: McGuyver}

                  3. Config File Tweaks

There are two files to be changed, located in My Documents>DayZ Open with notepad:

1. DayZ.cfg

   • Resolution_W: 2560,1920,1650, etc.

     Resolution_H: 1440, 1080, 1050, etc.

     *Set to your monitors native resolution

   • WinW: Custom

     WinH: Custom

     winDefW: Custom

     winDefH: Custom

     *Windowed Resolution, borderless option[6] & guide[7]

   • refresh: 60, 120, 144, etc.

     *your monitor's refresh rate

   • Render_W: 2560, 1920, 1650, etc

     Render_H: 1440, 1080, 1050, etc

     *GPU scaling - can be set in game

   • FSAA: 1 (from game settings)

   • postFX: 0 (from game settings)

   • GPU_MaxFramesAhead: 1

   • GPU_DetectedFramesAhead: 1

   • HDRPrecision: 16 (from game settings)

   • vsync: 0

   • AToC: 0 (from game settings)

     Setting this to 6 disables AA on grass, which gives you a massive performance boost. (AMD)

   • PipQuality: 3

   • PPAA: 4

     PPAA=1; enables a very light, basic FXAA, which puts AA back on the grass, and finishes off other details in-game. (AMD)

   • Windowed: 0

   • ssaoEnabled: 0

     ^{credit: anon}

2. <profilename>.DayZProfile

   "Towards the bottom there are a couple lines you'll need to edit"

   • SceneComplexity: 600000* this changes distant object detail, set between 50000-100000010000000 is optimal

     "makes buildings, trees, etc, look like clay models if you set it lower"

• TileSize: 12.5* this changes the quality of the rendered textures, set between 50-3.125, smaller numbers = higher quality

• ShadowZDistance: 100* this changes the distance shadows appear in game, set between 50-250

  "the ShadowZDistance is the distance away that you'll render shadows, I'm pretty sure"

• viewDistance: 1800* this sets the maximum distance you can see in game. set between 1000-3000

  "with my view distance at 1800m, and a scene complexity of 600k, I don't get any clay models in small towns, I haven't tried looking into Cherno or elektro yet - the human eye can't make out objects beyond 1250m, without zooming somehow, so even if you have a long range scope, you'll never need to see beyond 1800m"

  ^{credit: McGuyver}

• preferredObjectViewDistance: 1000* this sets the maximum distance player/npc models appear.set between 800-2500. Keep this number smaller than viewDistance

  ---

                4. FOV Calculation Guide
  

  ^{Original thread can be viewed here[8] , credit to /u/wildcard__ [9]}

  Within the <profilename>.DayZProfile find "fovTop=" and "fovLeft=" These are the values that are dependent on your monitor.

     [Default FOV](https://i.imgur.com/aALT7.jpg) 1920x1080 - [Zoom](https://i.imgur.com/7LQq6.jpg)
  
          fovTop=0.75;
          fovLeft=1.3333334;
  
  [90 FOV](https://i.imgur.com/ug5Gn.jpg) @ 1920x1080 - [Zoom](https://i.imgur.com/UwQgk.jpg)
  
          fovTop=1.03;
          fovLeft=1.83;
  
     ^credit: ^/u/Reutertu3
  
    **-Cheat Sheet-**
  

  80 FoV for 16:9 screens.

      fovTop=0.89;
      fovLeft=1.58;
  

  80 FoV for 16:10 screens.

      fovTop=1.0; 
      fovLeft=1.59;
  

  85 FoV for 16:9 screens.

      fovTop=0.96; 
      fovLeft=1.71;
  

  85 FoV for 16:10 screens.

      fovTop=1.06; 
      fovLeft=1.70;
  

  90 FoV for 16:9 screens.

      fovTop=1.03; 
      fovLeft=1.83;
  

  90 FoV for 16:10 screens.

      fovTop=1.13;
      fovLeft=1.82;
  

  90 FOV for 21:9 screens

      fovTop - 0.8 
      fovLeft - 1.87
  
  - **Custom FOV Calculations**
   - *Enter your screen resolution/aspect ratio and desired FOV into this [Calculator](http://www.rjdown.co.uk/projects/bfbc2/fovcalculator.php)*
  

    - *Use [Google](https://www.google.com/search?btnG=1&pws=0&q=degrees+in+radians&gws_rd=ssl) to convert to radians, then round it off at the hundredths.  This is your fovTop.*
  

   - *Using a calculator, divide your new fovTop by the second number in your aspect ratio - in my case, 9 (16:9).  Then multiply it by the first number, in my case 16.  This is your new fovLeft, round it to the nearest hundredth.*
  

                  5. CPU, GPU (NVidia/AMD) Optimization

This section needs work, if someone with an NVidia card could post their settings that would help me out a lot

For an AMD card, using CCC:

• AA - Override application settings, 8xEQ, Standard, Multisampling, On.

• Texture Filtering - Override aplication settings, 2c, High quality, Off.

For an AMD card, using RadeonPro:

For an NVidia GPU:

• Anisotropic - 2x, AA - FXX - Force On, Gamma correction (application controlled), AA - Setting 8x CSAA is what I use, Multi-display/Mixed GPU - Single Display performance, Texture Filtering - Anisotropic sample - OFF, Texture - negative LOD Bias - CLAMP, Texture Filtering Quality - Quality, Trilinear opt - ON, Threaded Opt - Auto

  ^{credit: McGuyver}